4.10.2008

Sing me a rainbow, steal me a dream

I don't know how many people I've talked to about the need for education in Africa. The general response I've gotten is one of genuine empathy. Every time I tell someone about the thousands of children walked for thousands of miles to escape their government's genocide, I get a good response. "That's terrible," they say. Usually followed by a sympathetic face.

I tell them about the resettlement of those children in the United States. I tell them about those same children that have grown up and want to go back to their country. I tell them that they have not seen their home in ten or more years. I tell them their drive, that they work full time jobs, attend school, earn their BA, want to get their Masters degree. I tell them that they want to go home to help their communities rebuild. I tell them that their hometown has never had a library, that their children cannot read. I tell them about these Lost Boys with hope to inspire people to think about how they can change the world.

I am met by the wet blanket of apathy that has covered this country for the last twenty years. I have had the channel changed on me. People will listen only for a short period of time. I am frustrated and I am exhausted.

I don't feel that I am asking for very much. I don't feel that I'm draining the people that I talk to when I ask. I am asking for so very little. Your time, your ears, your feet. I am asking you to watch this video. I am asking you to pledge your feet. I am asking you to help me. So take a gander at this and think about it:



Here's some info from our facebook site for the event:

walkSUDAN is a community-driven, volunteer-owned movement dedicated to promoting community development in Southern Sudan and helping the Lost Boys return home. We're organizing walks in Peoria, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Fargo. Pledge Your Feet and help us build a library in Panyijiar County, Southern Sudan. This war-torn region needs our help and, through our grass-roots campaign, we can make this region a better place to live!

All proceeds will go directly to Endless Eye and PACODES, two non-profits committed to community development in Panyijiar County. The funds will be used to build a library this fall and to finance a documentary film intended to raise awareness to the lacking infrastructure in Southern Sudan (and, in turn, help us raise funds to fix the problem).

It's easy to get involved...we're only asking that you raise $40 and pledge your feet on May 24th...come walk with us from Bradley University's quad to Liberty Park on the Peoria Riverfront. This symbolic walk will represent the tragic trek the Lost Boys made, as children, to escape the violence in Southern Sudan during the Civil War. 27,000 children left their homes and families to survive...after a thousand mile journey, only 13,000 children made it to refugee camps in Kenya. We're working to help create a community and help the Lost Boys go home!

They Walked to Survive...We Walk for Them!

We are hosting walkSUDAN events in PEORIA CHICAGO MINNEAPOLIS and FARGO. If you live in the Midwest, you can make it to one of them. If you don't live in the Midwest and want to help, think about setting up a walk in you city and contact me: amanda@endlesseye.org

This is your chance to help a community in need. It is your chance to change the world.

It starts with a library
that will bring hope to a community
and a culture
ready
for
change


Are you ready for change?